Derek Morgan – författare

The increasing capacity of medicine to intervene to save lives demands that we ask more and more questions about what death is, and why it matters. This series of studies on law, ethics and medicine contributes to the debate on when and how it is permissable to terminate life, to warn of death, and to deal with tragedy in its aftermath. The essays are wide-ranging, provocative and timely. Accessible to those from the worlds of both law and medicine, this work focuses uniquely upon an issue which is increasingly significant for both sets of practitioners.

Thirty years ago, English jurist Patrick Devlin wrote: "Is it not a pleasant tribute to the medical profession that by and large it has been able to manage its relations with its patients ... without the aid of lawyers and law makers". Medical interventions at the beginnings and the endings of life have rendered that assessment dated if not defeated. This book picks up some of the most important of those developments and reflects on the legal and social consequences of this metamorphosis over the past ten years, and will be of interest to students of law, sociology and ethics who want a considered and critical introduction to, and reflection on, key issues in these pivotal moments of human life.

Based on the "Guide to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990", this volume reviews the regulation of assisted conception including complex moral issues such as abortion, embryo research and cloning. It offers a comprehensive guide to the 1990 legislation as well as important legal and technical developments since that time.